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Bombardier to cut 5,000 jobs, sell Downsview operation

By Star wire services

Thu., Nov. 8, 2018

Bombardier Inc. announced Thursday it will cut 5,000 jobs over the next 12 to 18 months, but there was no discussion of cuts to the company’s Downsview workforce, according to the union that represents 2,100 employees there.

Bombardier said about 3,000 jobs will be cut in Canada, with the majority of those in Bombardier’s home province of Quebec and 500 in Ontario. Scott McIlmoyle, president of Unifor Local 122, which represents more than 2,000 unionized workers at Downsview, said “In Toronto, there’s been no discussion of job loss.”

Bombardier announced it’s cutting about 5,000 jobs across the organization and has sold a number of non-core assets. (Toronto Star File Photo)

The cuts worldwide, which amount to about 7 per cent of the company’s workforce, are part of a new restructuring plan expected to reap about $900 million in asset sales and save Bombardier about $250 million a year by 2021.The Q400 turboprop operation, which has been located at Downsview for about 20 years, is being sold for about $300 million (U.S.), to Longview Aviation Capital Core, according to Thursday’s announcement. B.C.-based Longview is the parent company of Viking Air Ltd., which builds the Twin Otter propeller plane in Canada.

The sale also includes Bombardier’s entire Dash 8 program — the 100, 200 and 300 series — and its de Havilland trademark.

Bombardier also announced the sale of its aircraft’s flight and technical training business to CAE, and the monetization of royalties for about $800 million (U.S.).

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The plant is Toronto’s biggest manufacturing operation, according to the city.

The Canadian manufacturer is working off $9.5 billion in adjusted debt, money it poured into two aircraft-development programs plagued with delays and cost overruns.

The Global 7500 private jet is set to debut next month, marking the end of the company’s heavy investment cycle. Bombardier ceded control of the C Series passenger plane in July to Airbus SE, which renamed it the A220.

Quebec threw Bombardier a lifeline about three years ago with a $1-billion investment in the C Series. Last year, the federal government also gave Bombardier $372.5 million in interest-free loans for the C Series and Global 7500 programs.

Once it completes the deal, Longview Aviation will become North America’s largest commercial turbo-prop aircraft manufacturer.

“The Dash 8 turbo-prop is the perfect complement to our existing portfolio of specialized aircraft including the Twin Otter and the Canadair CL 215 and 415 series of water bombers,” said Longview Aviation chief executive David Curtis in a statement.

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The changes came as Bombardier reported a profit of $149 million (U.S.) or four cents per share in its latest quarter, compared with a loss of $100 million (U.S.) or four cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $3.64 billion, down from $3.84 billion a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, Bombardier said it earned four cents per share in the quarter compared with a break-even result in the third quarter of 2017.

Bombardier is the city’s largest manufacturer, just ahead of drug giant Apotex, according to the city.

Bombardier announced in January plans to sell its 152-hectare Downsview facility, which includes a 2.1-km runway, saying it only uses about a tenth of the prime parcel near Sheppard Ave. W. and Keele St.

The plant is considered an historic centre of aerospace development in Canada and that announcement fueled speculation that the high-paying manufacturing facility would be sold off to a condo developer.

Mayor John Tory said it was good news that a Canadian company has bought Bombardier’s Toronto operation. But he conceded that there are no guarantees the aerospace jobs are permanent.

He called it “a degree of assurance that those jobs will be there and those aircraft will continue to be manufactured.”

But, Tory added, “Every single industry is changing in a dramatic way.”

He said he will work with the new owner to find ways to ensure the jobs extend beyond the current three-year commitment.

York Centre councillor James Pasternak, who is now responsible for that area, says the city is determined to keep the Bombardier property as employment land.

“The city wouldn't support a residential subdivision,” he said.

“Our goal is to work with our municipal partners and make sure good manufacturing jobs stay in the Golden Horseshoe,” he said.

Maria Augimeri, the former city councillor for Downsview, who lost to Pasternak in last month’s municipal election, warned that all three levels of government have to carefully guard the 3,500 well-paying manufacturing jobs.

“They’re jobs that pay over $30 an hour. They’re jobs that contribute a great deal to our socio-economic status in Canada’s premier city,” she said. “We can’t turn a blind eye to what’s happening to the GTA’s largest manufacturer and that is that it’s spiralling downards.”

Tory said there is no reason to believe that the aerospace announcement will have any effect on Bombardier’s role in producing light rail vehicles to run on the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT, which is scheduled to open in 2021.

Bombardier’s makeover is expected to continue with the company saying it will “explore strategic options” for its CRJ regional-jet program.

The company’s growth is expected to depend on private jets and trains, which accounted for 88 per cent of its third-quarter sales. The commercial aircraft business recorded a loss of $9 million in that quarter. The train division showed a $187 million profit, while business aircraft earned $89 million.

The company would not rule out job cuts in the U.K., including its Belfast aerospace operation.

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